


I've Bean Here All Along

by eafay70



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Bad Flirting, Happy Ending, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-27 13:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17162798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eafay70/pseuds/eafay70
Summary: Jake has been the morning barista at Lightning Coffee long enough to get to know the regulars, including Yanni, who won't shut up about being unlucky in love. Can Jake get Yanni to give him a chance?





	I've Bean Here All Along

**Author's Note:**

  * For [verbaeghe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/verbaeghe/gifts).



> Hi! =D I hope this fic is a good start to your 2019! I've actually never written this ship before, but I read your fics featuring them after being assigned to you and fell in love.

Lightning Coffee didn't have an extensive menu or a lot of seating space. It didn't get a lot of foot traffic or publicity. In fact, things were so quiet at Lightning Coffee that only one employee was needed per shift. Most people wouldn't have wanted to be that employee, but Jake wasn't most people: he liked that he'd only needed two weeks to master everything on the menu, he liked that he got to work alone, and he liked that the customers who did come were loyal regulars.

After only a few months working as the morning shift barista, Jake knew his regular customers like the back of his hand. If he'd owned a wristwatch, he could have set it based on who was coming through the door. Instead, he worked on making the drinks as efficiently as possible so he could spend a fair amount of time talking to each regular, which was undoubtedly his favorite part of his job. And while all of the regulars had interesting lives that made for great conversation, there was one regular he liked most of all: Yanni.

Yanni was a handsome TV producer who came in for a large café au lait midway through Jake's shift and stayed for a good fifteen minutes to talk. The topics varied from hockey (which was how Jake had confirmed that Yanni's lovely accent was indeed from Quebec) to Yanni's work (which was why Jake had started DVRing a children's show about pandas on a spaceship) to dating difficulties (which was what had prompted Jake to think of Yanni as available). At this point, Jake's crush on Yanni was worsening daily, and something had to be done. But what?

**

"I just don't understand," Yanni sighed as he stared into his coffee. "The guys say they love the accent, but then they complain that they can't understand me when I talk too fast!"

"That's on them, not you." Jake checked the milk and cream pitchers, even though nobody else was due to come in until after Yanni left. "If they aren't willing to listen well enough to understand you even when you're speaking quickly, then they're not worth it."

"You're right." Yanni took a few sips of his coffee, then smiled at Jake, who couldn't help smiling back. "When I am happy, my words are more fast...faster?"

"Faster," Jake confirmed. "Yes, they are indeed."

"So that means they should feel flattered, not annoyed!"

An idea popped into Jake's head. He acted on it right away. "I would see it as a challenge: Can I make Yanni so happy that he can't even understand himself because he's speaking so quickly?"

Yanni burst out laughing. "That has not happened yet! It's a very good challenge!"

And with that, Jake's idea was cemented: He was going to flirt his way into at least one date with Yanni. Given what Jake knew about the competition, he suspected this was going to be quite easy.

**

Jake started in earnest the following day as soon as Yanni walked through the door with his usual greeting of, "Good morning, Jake!"

"It's a very good morning now that you're here," Jake replied, doing his best to flutter his eyelashes. Given how confused Yanni looked, Jake's educated guess was that the fluttering looked awful; it made him very grateful that Yanni was the only customer in the shop at this particular time. He sighed and asked, "The usual?"

"Yes, please." Yanni took out his wallet and paid for his coffee, which Jake quickly prepared. "The guy last night kept talking about himself. If all he wants is to sleep with me, which is what I suspect he wanted, then he should at least pretend to care about me, should he not?"

"He should!" Jake gave him his coffee. "Being that self-centered outside the bedroom isn't promising for his priorities inside the bedroom. You deserve much, much better."

Yanni smiled into his coffee. "Thank you, Jake. You're the best."

"No, you're the best. And you deserve someone who treats you that way."

"Thanks." Yanni looked up as he sipped his coffee. "Did you see the game last night? I have never seen the goalie play so well!"

Jake had, in fact, seen the game, so he didn't mind the change in topic. After Yanni left, however, Jake couldn't help sighing in disappointment - his flirting just wasn't very good. This was going to be harder than he'd anticipated.

**

"Good morning, Jake!" Yanni sounded like his usual cheerful self, but his smile wasn't quite as wide as usual.

"Good morning, Yanni." Jake kept his voice normal, just to be on the safe side. "The usual?"

"Yes, please." Yanni didn't say anything else until after he'd started sipping his coffee. "The guy last night was the fifth in two weeks to laugh at my job."

"Why would they laugh at making a really good TV show?" Jake scoffed. "It has pandas and space! And engineering and puns! What's not to love?"

"It's for kids," Yanni sighed. "They laugh: 'Oh, how cute!' And they ask if I want to do real television instead."

Jake shook his head in disgust. "Someone gets the chance to meet a handsome guy with a cute accent, learns that he makes a show with a plotline about hydroponics and bamboo, and laughs?!"

"That part airs next week," Yanni said.

"No, it aired this week! I watched the first episode last night!"

"Oh. The holidays changed the schedule, so I lost track." Yanni blinked a few times. "But the show doesn't air at night."

"I record it during the day and watch it at night before the game," Jake said, blushing.

"Oh." Yanni was blushing, too. "I did not expect you to watch it. Do you have a little one in your life who watches it with you? Or not with you?"

"No, there's nobody in that age group in my life." Jake gulped before continuing to speak. "You're really passionate about the show, so I decided to give it a try. And I got...well, hooked."

"Jake..." Yanni smiled his usual smile. "That's the nicest thing I've ever heard, I think."

Jake smiled back. "You know, if we were on that spaceship, I'd request you as a bunkmate."

"They don't share bunks! It's a children's show!" Yanni laughed.

"The main characters don't." Jake fluttered his eyelashes. "But what about the pilot episode when they have nightmares and look for their parents?"

"I'm not sure why the network allowed that then but haven't allowed it more recently, like in the Valentine's episode." Yanni paused, clearly trying to figure something out. "Wait a minute...are you finally flirting with me?"

"Yes," Jake nodded. "Wait...'finally' as in..."

"As in I kept telling you about the bad dates so you'd know I was available and ask me out!" Yanni laughed. "Finally, the handsomest barista ever shows interest in little me!"

"You're not that little!" Jake laughed back. "I'm just tall!"

"I'm very aware of that." Yanni's smile was the widest Jake had ever seen. "So, I should get your number now and text you later. We can watch my show together before puck drop. And you can try making me so happy that I can't even understand myself."

"Yes to all of that." Jake was smiling so much that his cheeks were already starting to ache. It wasn't quite how he'd expected things to turn out, but he had absolutely no reason to complain.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is love!


End file.
